'Know your local market,' says industry expert

It’s time for REALTORS® and brokers to decide how they’re going to respond to the industry’s downturn, according to Alexander E. Perriello, president and chief executive officer of Realogy Franchise Group. Realogy is the largest real estate residential and commercial franchisor in the world.

“We have two options. We can sit and wait to see what’s going to happen or we can do something proactive now,” said Perriello, who addressed agents at the recent National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) Convention in Las Vegas. He said he’ll choose the latter.

Perriello, who’s experienced at least four downturns in his 30 years in the real estate industry, said agents and brokers don’t control interest rates, unemployment, consumer confidence, foreclosures, delinquencies or many of the issues affecting the industry. He compared the situation to a famous quote by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

“Ask others what they’re doing to ignite their business,” he advised and offered some suggestions.

For agents, Perriello outlined a few proven techniques:

• Know your local market. Know the numbers by market, sub market, price range of homes, number of sales, list to sell ratio. If you expect to be a trusted advisor, you need to know these numbers and be able to talk about them.
• Need to get listing inventory of priced property. There are two types of properties, the ones you sell and the ones you keep. No matter what you do, you can’t sell an overpriced property. Knowing the data will help you show your client how to price the property correctly.
• Expand your pool of buyers. Now is a good time to buy rental properties. Look at past customer base, find ones who might invest and talk to them about buying rental properties. Expand your investor-property pool. When you offer good opportunities and excellent service to these investors, they’ll refer you to other clients.

Perriello offered advice to brokers:

• Stop managing and start leading. Management is getting people to do things right; leadership is getting them to do the right thing. Start being leaders.
• Now’s the time for growth. Grow your market share through mergers and acquisitions. The current climate provides opportunity for you to be places you never dreamed.
• Maintain a positive attitude. As broker, rise above the challenges. We all know this is a cyclical business. Your attitude is most important, especially to those around you.

Perriello said he recently spoke to a Century 21 broker who acquired a firm within his market. The top agent thanked the broker for buying the company after the first meeting and said it was the first time anyone in the office had smiled in a year.

“Sometimes it’s hard to smile but people need to see that,” Perriello added. “Over communicate to your agents, have the data available, and be open and transparent about what’s going on in the company.”